In the jewelry industry, many small, yet valuable, parts are routinely handled during the design, preparation, fabrication, or repair of a piece of jewelry. In such an environment, small pieces easily may be lost, misplaced, or misidentified, imposing significant time losses, and sometimes financial losses, upon the jeweler.
Often in such an environment, there is no convenient means both to store the part, alongside of other equivalent or related parts, and, optionally, to easily ascertain critical information about the part, such as might be needed concerning its identification, inventory status, or reordering information. Examples of such critical information may take the form of the identification of the manufacturer of a particular part, the contact information for the manufacturer, its part number, part description, catalog reference, catalog number, date of purchase, cost at purchase, quantity at purchase, quality, size, bar code identifier, or the like.
Similarly, there often is no convenient system offering flexibility for the organization, and subsequent reorganization, of the part, alongside of other equivalent or related parts, and, optionally, offering the ability to keep at hand the critical information related to the part or parts. In such an environment, it would be advantageous to provide a system that would accommodate differing needs of various users over time. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide for the safe transportability of the system between and among a security safe, workbench, countertop, or the like.
Such a system might advantageously be utilized within fields of endeavor other than jewelry, as, for example, in such fields wherein there is a need to organize, store, access, identify, and safely transport small parts. Such fields might include those that use small electrical or electronic components, mechanical hardware, or the like.
In recognition of certain of the above-stated organizational needs, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,197 to Gentry et al. provides a fishing bait organizer including a flat backing member, along with a series of attaching members for the securing of groups of storage bags to the backing member. The mouths of the storage bags open away from the backing member. Into the bags may be placed various fishing baits and lures. Disadvantageously, this organizer does not provide means for easily separating each bag from the organizer or for optionally ascertaining critical information regarding the contents of the bag; nor does it provide sufficient structural support for the orientation of the mouths of the bags toward the user and the maintenance of the bags in that position; nor does it provide for the convenient reorganization of the individual bags during use of the organizer. Similar observations may be had with reference to the fishing bait and tackle organizers of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,394,638 and 5,632,113, both to Raymond et al., and to the plastic bag organizer and storage apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,957 to Johnson.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,935 to Weiner provides a portable coupon organizer that may be attached to the handle of a shopping cart by rings. This organizer provides a series of transparent, sealable pockets for the storage of coupons. The user may view coupons from either side of the pocket. Although each pocket may be labeled according to the user's preference for the organization of the coupons contained therein, the referenced patent does not teach the use or need to optionally associate with each pocket such other critical information as is needed in a component parts storage system. As with the previously referenced prior art patent, the organizer of the referenced patent does not provide means for easily separating each bag from the organizer rings; nor does it provide sufficient structural support for the orientation of the mouths of the bags toward the user and the maintenance of the bags in that position.
In accordance, then, with the needs recognized hereinabove, and the stated short-comings of the referenced prior art devices toward such needs, an effective small component parts filing and inventory control system would prove advantageous for persons engaged, generally, in the stocking, inventorying, using, and transporting of small parts in association with a manufacturing or repair facility. It is to the provision of such a system that the present invention is directed.